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Tag: Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
‘How long do I have to disclose my criminal record for?’ – A detailed guide to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
Drag-through explained
Top 10 things to know about criminal records
Step-by-step guide to applying for a basic DBS check
Aim of this page
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) started carrying out basic criminal record checks in early 2018. We have a dedicated landing page about basic DBS checks.
There are two ways of getting a basic check from the DBS:
- Option 1 – Applicants can apply directly to the DBS using their online self-service channel.
- Option 2 – Applicants can apply via their employer or other registered organisation.
This guidance is a step-by-step process if you’re applying for a basic DBS check using option 1. It has been produced following an application made by a member of the Unlock team (referred to here as “our test application”).
Verifying your identity
The DBS use GOV.UK Verify as a secure way to prove who you are online. The site states that it will take between 5 and 15 minutes to verify your identity, although in our test application it took longer than that. If you know that you’ll need to apply for a basic DBS check, it may be worth verifying your identity in advance.
To verify your identity for a basic DBS check you’ll need:
- All your addresses for the last 5 years and the dates you lived there
- Your National Insurance number
- A debit or credit card
- Proof of your identity, for example a passport, valid driving licence or birth certificate.
Based on your age, where you’ve been living in the last 12 months and the type of ID that you have available, you’ll be given a choice of companies who will be able to verify your identity (you don’t have to be an existing customer with these companies).
- Royal Mail
- Experian
- Barclays
- Citizen Safe
- Post Office
- Digidentity
- Secure Identity
Important: Keep a note of the company you’ve selected together with the email and password you’ve used to register. You’ll need these if you want to apply for further checks in the future.
Once your identity has been verified you’ll receive an email confirmation from the company you’ve chosen.
The DBS online application form
The online form will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. Amongst the questions asked you’ll need to give:
- Details of your previous addresses over the last five years and the dates you lived there
- Your full name and any other names that you have been known by.
You will not be asked to provide any details about your criminal record.
Once you’ve completed all the questions, you can chose where you would like the certificate to be sent. This can be either your home address or ‘another address’ which could be your employer.
Make sure you’re clear about where you want your certificate to be sent. If you have a criminal record and you’re not sure whether it’s spent or not, you should consider putting your address down so that it comes to you first.
Even if you’re pretty confident that your criminal record is spent, we’d still advise that you request the check is sent to you, so that you can be confident that it’s blank before passing it onto your employer.
In our test application, we put the details of the employer (in this case, Unlock) as we understood, because we knew the person who was asking for the basic check had an unspent criminal record, that permission to send to a third party would be revoked. However, the check was still sent to the third party. We have raised this with the DBS.
At the end of the application process the DBS state that an email will be sent to you with your application reference number.
Although it’s stated that the email may take up to three days, in our test application we received one within a couple of hours of completing the online form.
Tracking your application
It’s possible to track your application using your application reference number, date of birth and your surname.
You won’t be able to find out what’s on the certificate, just the status of it.
We do have some concerns that with just the above information, employers could check the status of your certificate. Although they wouldn’t be able to see any information relating to your criminal record, if you needed to raise a query with the DBS regarding the content of your certificate, your employer could question why you’ve not handed it over if they know that the certificate has been issued.
Once the certificate is ready
As soon as your certificate is ready, you’ll receive a letter from the DBS stating that a paper version will be posted to you separately. They will also include an authorisation code for you to use to view your certificate online. The certificate will be available to view online for approximately 28 days.
To view your certificate online you will need to create an online account by visiting www.gov.uk/dbs. Once you’ve created your online account you can use the authorisation code to link to your DBS profile.
When we were working through the process, we tried setting up our online account immediately after completing the online application form which we found to be quite problematic. It may have been because at that stage, we didn’t have the authorisation code to link to our profile. We’d therefore advise that you wait until you receive the letter from the DBS with your authorisation code before trying to set up your online account.
Sharing your certificate with your employer
The majority of employers will want to see the paper version of your certificate. However, once you’ve set up your online account it’s possible to give consent to your employer to view it online by going to the ‘manage consent’ page.
If your employer doesn’t already have a DBS account, the DBS will generate a one-off code which will allow them to view the certificate online.
The online certificate can’t be copied but it can be printed as a PDF.
The paper version of the basic check
If you have elected to receive a paper copy of your certificate this will usually be sent to you within 14 days of your application.
Useful links
Below you will find links to useful websites relating to this page. More specific details (including addresses and telephone numbers) of some of the organisations listed below can be found here.
- Disclosure and Barring Service – Government body established under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and merges functions previously carried out by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).
More information
- For practical information – More information what will be disclosed on a basic DBS check? and basic DBS checks
- To discuss this issue with others – Read and share your experiences on our online forum
- Questions – If you have any questions about this, you can contact our helpline.
Spent and unspent convictions – when you might have to disclose them
Aim
This page provides a simple overview of the practical ways that convictions might come up in day-to-day life, and how that might change depending on whether the convictions are unspent or spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.
Why is this important?
Convictions and criminal records can have an impact in a range of ways. Sometimes, whether it’s unspent or spent is important. Sometimes, the fact that it’s spent doesn’t stop it potentially causing a problem. There’s a lot of confusion about how the law applies in different situation.
Areas of life
The table above is only a summary and each of these areas (and others) are covered in detail elsewhere on the Information Hub. For further details see:-
- Disclosing to employers
- Volunteering
- Education and training
- Insurance
- Housing
- Travel Abroad
- Travel to the UK
- Being a victim of crime
- Police records
Get involved
Help us to add value to this information. You can:
- Comment on this information (below)
- Send your feedback directly to us
- Discuss your views and experiences with others on our online forum
- Share your personal story by personal experience or story by contributing to our online magazine, theRecord
Enforced subject access
Summary
‘Enforced subject access’ (under section 184 of the Data Protection Act 2018) prevents employers from requiring people to use their subject access rights under the DPA to provide certain records, such as police records, as a condition of employment. It also prevents contracts from requiring certain records as a condition for providing or receiving a service, such as housing or insurance. Requiring people to provide these records will become a criminal offence, punishable by a fine. In England and Wales the maximum financial penalty on summary conviction in the magistrates’ court is £5,000 (soon to be unlimited). On indictment in the Crown Court the fine can be unlimited.
We’ve long argued that section 184 needs to be brought into force, but this wasn’t ever possible until reforms to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 were brought in on the 10th March 2014. Section 184 came into force on the 10th March 2015.
For people with convictions, this is an important development. Although it doesn’t prevent employers and others from getting access to criminal records through legitimate means, what section 56 does do is prevent the use of significant amounts of sensitive personal data that can be disclosed as part of a subject access request.
In the past, we’ve come across examples where employers, insurers, education providers and housing providers have required people provide copies of their police record by applying to the police and paying £10 for a subject access request. This type of request discloses all information held on the Police National Computer, including convictions and cautions that are spent, as well as allegations or other ‘local police information’.
The introduction of section 184 will enable a clearer message to be given to any organisation that is found to be undertaking this type of practice. The legislation only allows requirements of this type where the record is required by law or is justified in the public interest.
Frequently asked questions
No. It means that an employer can’t make you do a ‘subject access request’ under the Data Protection Act to get a copy of your police record.
Depending on the job, an employer will still be able (if they wish) to require you to undergo a basic, standard or enhanced criminal record check.
What you should do will depend on the reason for the request. For example, if it’s for a job that would be eligible for a standard or enhanced check, then you might advise them of that. If not, then it might be that they’re only allowed to ask you to do a basic disclosure. Ultimately, you should be able to refuse to do it. Use the guidance above to help you. Either way, if you have evidence of them requiring you to do an enforced subject access, send us the details.
This is the phrase that is used to describe the process of obtaining a copy of the records that organisations hold on you. In this context, it’s mainly referring to you obtaining a copy of your police record.
Yes. This means that insurers will no longer require you to provide a copy of your police record. Instead, if they do require any form of official record of unspent convictions, they may ask you to consent to a basic disclosure.
Yes. It applies to any individual or organisation that ‘requires’ you to do a subject access request. For example, housing associations will no longer be able to require you to obtain a copy of your police record.
Yes. In guidance to schools it’s been made clear that they cannot require individuals to obtain police records of either themselves or those that live or work in the same household as them.
Yes. Under the 2003 Licensing Act Guidance (4.6) Regulations, in order to substantiate whether or not an applicant has a conviction for an unspent relevant offence, a licensing authority can, for the granting of a personal licence request a criminal conviction certificate, a criminal record certificate (both of these are basic DBS checks), or the results of a subject access search of the Police National Computer by the National Identification Service to the licensing authority. This means that whilst an enforced subject access request is now illegal, it can be requested for the granting of a personal licence. We would always recommend that when applying for a personal licence, you provide a basic DBS check rather than a SAR which would disclose the details of all convictions rather than just those which are unspent.
Other useful resources
Long list of sentences/disposals and how long it takes for them to become spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
Aim of this page
This page sets out the rehabilitation periods for current sentences and disposals as well as some historic sentences/disposals.
It’s part of our information on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.
Why is this important?
When changes were made to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act in October 2023, the time it took for some sentences and disposals to become spent changed.
It’s important to know if, and when, your conviction becomes spent before you start applying for jobs, purchasing financial products etc so that you only disclose what you are legally required to.
A-Z of current sentences/disposals
Below is a long list of current sentences and disposals, with the length of time they take to become spent (known as the ‘rehabilitation period’).
This list adds to the detailed guide on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, which should be read alongside this list. Please also read the notes that are below the table.
- Attendance centre order – Spent immediately
- Absolute discharge – Spent immediately
- Bind over – Length of the order
- Care order – Length of the order
- *Community order (e.g. ‘probation’) (see note 3 & 11) – Length of the order
- Compensation order (see note 4) – When paid in full
- Conditional caution / Conditional youth caution – 3 months or when it ends, if earlier (3 months)
- Conditional discharge (see note 11) – Length of the order
- Confiscation order (see note 11) – Length of the order
- Court costs (see note 5) – Doesn’t impact on the time it takes for a conviction to become spent
- Criminal behaviour order (see note 11) – Length of the order
- Disqualification order (see note 6 & 11) – Length of the order
- Endorsement (imposed by a court) – 5 years (2 ½ years)
- Extended Sentences – These are excluded from rehabilitation and never spent.
- Financial reporting order (see note 11) – Length of the order
- Fine (see note 7) – 1 year (6 months)
- Football banning order (see note 11) – Length of the order
- Forfeiture order (see note 11) – Length of the order (although see note 11 below)
- Hospital order (with or without restrictions) (see note 8 & 11) – Length of the order
- *Prison sentence (see note 9)
Less than (or equal to) 12 months – Sentence + 1 year (Sentence + 6 months)
More than 12 months and less than (or equal to) 4 years – Sentence + 4 years (Sentence + 2 years)
More than 4 years – Sentence + 7 years (Sentence + 3 ½ years) ** - Referral order (see note 11) – Length of the order
- Relevant order (see note 11) – Length of the order
- Reparation order (see note 11) – Spent immediately
- Restraining order (see note 11) – Length of the order
- Serious crime prevention order (see note 11) – Length of the order
- Sexual harm prevention order (see note 11) – Length of the order
- Sexual notification order – Doesn’t impact on the time it takes for a conviction to become spent
- Sexual offence prevention order (see note 11) – Length of the order
- Simple caution / youth caution – Spent immediately
- *Suspended prison sentence (see note 12) – Same as ‘Prison sentence’ above
- Victim surcharge – Doesn’t impact on the time it takes for a conviction to become spent
Notes
- In the table, the time starts from the date of conviction (unless indicated with a * – see below) and relate to adults – if it’s different for those under 18, this is detailed in brackets.
- Those marked with an * (asterix) do not necessarily start from the date of conviction. Prison sentences, suspended sentences and community orders have a rehabilitation period which is made up of the original sentence, plus an additional fixed period. For these, you normally start from the date the sentence started (which is not always the same as the date of conviction), work to the end of the full sentence, then add the further fixed period.
- If the order is subsequently changed, this will not affect the rehabilitation period. A community order or youth rehabilitation order which has no specific end date has a default rehabilitation period of two years from the date of conviction.
- These are only regarded as spent once they are paid in full. Unfortunately, there is no record kept on the Police National Computer that compensation orders are paid, and this is what Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) see when they process basic checks. As a result, it is important that you obtain proof of payment of the compensation order from the court and keep this document to prove it has been paid in full. This may be needed by the DBS when processing a basic check before they would regard it as ‘spent’ and so not disclose it. It should be noted that the DBS will treat a compensation order as being paid in full if (1) it was for an amount of less than £100 or (2) it is over 6 years old. Further information about relevant orders can be found at note 11.
- Court costs are not regarded as fines, and do not have their own rehabilitation period. They are given alongside other “disposals”, which attract rehabilitation periods in their own right.
- These include being disqualified from being a company director. Motoring disqualifications will normally come with an Endorsement, which is likely to be longer.
- Fines become spent regardless of whether they are paid or not. The rehabilitation period for a fine applies even if you are later imprisoned for default of the fine. Fines as a result of fixed penalty notices (FPN) and penalty notices for disorder (PND) are not covered by the Act as they do not form part of your criminal record so they don’t have a rehabilitation period.
- These relate to those issued under the Mental Health Act 1983.
- The term ‘prison sentence’ includes suspended prison sentences, detention in a young offender institution, detention under s.91 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, detention and training orders, youth custody, corrective training and borstal training. ** Certain offences which result in a prison sentence of over 4 years are excluded from rehabilitation and will never be spent.
- This includes imprisonment for life, sentence of preventive detention, sentence of detention during Her Majesty’s pleasure or for life, imprisonment for public protection, detention for public protection, extended sentences of imprisonment or detention for public protection and extended determinate sentences for dangerous offenders.
- These are often known as ‘ancillary orders’ (see CPS detailed guidance on ancillary orders and the CPS long list of orders) that are given alongside other sentences. Some orders are aimed at redressing some harm caused by an offender, e.g. compensation orders. Others aim to prevent future re-offending or repeat victimisation, e.g.restraining orders or sexual harm prevention orders. These orders can run for longer than the rehabilitation period of the other sentences issued by the court which means that the conviction can remain unspent for longer than was initially thought. The term ‘relevant order’ is used in Ministry of Justice guidance, and refers to orders such as conditional discharges, bind overs and referral orders. It also includes restraining orders and sexual harm prevention orders (SHPO). See below for more information on when relevant orders become spent. Some ancillary orders (i.e. sexual notification orders) are civil orders which have no impact on the time it takes for a conviction to become spent.
- The rehabilitation period is based on the length of the prison sentence that would have been imposed, not the length it was suspended for. The ‘buffer’ period starts from the end of the prison sentence. For example, if you received a 12 month suspended sentence in January 2014 (suspended for 2 years), the buffer period would be 4 years, starting from January 2015. The conviction would become spent in January 2019.
When does a ‘relevant order’ become spent?
As note 11 above references, relevant orders are known as ancillary orders.
While there is no definitive list of relevant orders, in this context we believe it includes most ancillary orders, including compensation orders, criminal behaviour orders, driving disqualifications, forfeiture orders, confiscation orders, football banning orders, company director disqualification orders and sexual harm prevention orders. .
Essentially, a conviction cannot become spent until the order ends. Some orders run for many years longer than the ‘main’ sentence.
If someone received a 4 month prison sentence, this would be spent 1 year after the end of the full sentence. But if they receive a 5 year SHPO, the conviction will not become spent until the 5 year SHPO has ended.
Essentially, where the order remains in force “until further order”, this will remain in place until you return to court to have it varied or ceased, so it will be regarded as unspent indefinitely.
Example – For a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) that is deemed to be in place “until further order”, the conviction attached to the SHPO cannot become spent until the case goes back to court and the SHPO amended accordingly.
It’s also important to note that while a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) is a relevant order, being subject to sex offender notification requirements (i.e. being on the sex offenders register) is not treated as a relevant order and has no impact on when the conviction becomes spent.
Relevant orders only relate to the conviction that they’re linked to, they don’t ‘drag through’ other convictions.
Example – Marcus was convicted of assault on 1 August 2009 when he was 26 and received a 3 month suspended sentence. This would become spent on 1 November 2010.
On 10 June 2010, he was convicted of battery and sentenced to:
- a 6 month custodial sentence
- a restraining order until further notice
- a fine for £50
The 2010 conviction would remain unspent until further notice, due to the restraining order. His earlier conviction in 2009 would have it’s rehabilitation period extended until 10 December 2012 due to the custodial sentence Marcus received in 2011. However, the rehabilitation period would not be affected by the restraining order.
Where the order has an immediate effect or has a specific lifespan that hasn’t been quantified, the order becomes spent 2 years from when it was given.
For example, a forfeiture order would become spent 2 years from when it was given.
Note – a “community order with an unpaid work requirement only” also fits into the 2 year category above, but these cases are very rare and do not happen now. If you think this applies to you, we would recommend that you check with Probation and/or get a copy of your police record.
Historic sentences and disposals
The list below is of sentences/disposals that have been replaced in some way with those mentioned above. If you have received one of these in the past, you may need to use the list above to work out if/when they are spent.
- Anti-social behaviour order – Refer to ‘Relevant order’ above
- Action plan order – Refer to ‘Youth Rehabilitation order’ above
- Approved school order – Refer to ‘Community order / Youth rehabilitation order’ above
- Borstal training sentence – Refer to ‘Prison sentence’ above
- Combination order – Refer to ‘Community order / Youth rehabilitation order’ above
- Community punishment order – Refer to ‘Community order / Youth rehabilitation’ order above
- Community punishment and rehabilitation order – Refer to ‘Community order / Youth rehabilitation order’ above
- Community service order – Refer to ‘Community order / Youth rehabilitation order’ above
- Curfew order – Refer to ‘Community order / Youth rehabilitation order’ above
- Detention and training order – Refer to ‘Prison sentence’ above
- Disqualification from working with children (under the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000) – Does not affect the rehabilitation period associated with the conviction (see section 38 of the Act)
- Drug treatment and testing order – Refer to ‘Community order / Youth rehabilitation order’ above
- Final warning – Refer to ‘Youth caution’ above
- Probation order – Refer to ‘Community order’ above
- Reception order – Refer to ‘Relevant order’ above
- Reprimand – Refer to ‘Youth caution’ above
- Secure training order – Refer to ‘Prison sentence’ above
- Supervision order – Refer to ‘Youth rehabilitation order’ above
- Youth custody order – Refer to ‘Prison sentence’ above
Can’t find your sentence/disposal?
If a sentence/disposal is not explicitly covered in the above tables, it is likely not to have a rehabilitation period and so will become spent immediately (unless it is attached to another sentence/disposal which does have a rehabilitation period). This follows the guidance that is given in the Ministry of Justice guidance.
However, there are some old sentences/orders that are not directly covered in the MoJ guidance, but it doesn’t mean they have no rehabilitation period, because they’re now treated as other orders. This applies where the order is given at the point of conviction. Some of these are listed in the tables above.
If you can’t find your sentence or disposal listed above, and you want to know when it would become spent, please contact us.
If you’ve spotted a sentence or disposal that’s missing from either of the lists above, please let us know.
Discuss this with others
Read and share your experiences on our online forum.
Key sections include:
Useful links
Below you will find links to useful websites relating to this page. More specific details (including addresses and telephone number) of some of the organisations listed below can be found here.
More information
- For practical information – More information on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and Applying to a court to end a court date
- To discuss this with others – Read and share your experiences on our online forum
- Questions – If you have any questions about this, you can contact our helpline.
Motoring convictions and the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act
Help us – As part of our policy work we’re working on stopping the sharing of spent motoring convictions by the DVLA
Why is this important?
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act applies to a number of areas of life, but particularly employment and insurance.
Motoring convictions are treated slightly strangely under the ROA, when compared with other types of offences.
Motoring endorsements
Sadly, the way that endorsements are treated under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act has not been changed by the 2014 changes. This was in large part because of resistance by the insurance industry. Unfortunately, the knock-on effect of this is that it means that they also remain unspent for other purposes, such as when applying for employment. This is an area that we are actively working on, and are keen to gather evidence of where this is having a disproportionate impact for people.
The result is that an endorsement imposed by a court for a road traffic offence is treated as a sentence under the ROA and becomes spent after 5 years (or two and half years where you are under 18).
Every endorsement has a minimum 5 year rehabilitation period. This is even the case for endorsements that only remain on your driving licence for 4 years. The length of the endorsement is irrelevant. Endorsements that remain on a licence for 11 years do not stop the conviction relating to the offence from becoming spent earlier, subject to the other elements of the sentence.
This also applies to endorsements issued by way of Fixed Penalty Notice for a road traffic offence listed in Schedule 2 to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (see below for more information).
There remains a lot of confusion about the way that motoring convictions are being dealt with under the ROA, particularly given the way that motoring offences are recorded (or not) on the Police National Computer, and what this means in practice for individuals in terms of applying for employment and insurance. We are working on some specific guidance on this, so if you have any information or experiences that you think would help with this guidance, please send them to policy@unlock.org.uk.
Penalty points
Penalty points imposed by a court become spent when they cease to have effect. Under road traffic legislation, penalty points may be taken into account for ‘totting up’ purposes for three years, hence they have a three year rehabilitation period.
However, it is our understanding that penalty points are only ever issued alongside an endorsement, and so the 5 year period for the endorsement will normally be more relevant.
Driving disqualifications
The rehabilitation period for a driving disqualification is the length of the disqualification. If you are disqualified from driving and at the same time receive another penalty, the longer of the two rehabilitation periods applies.
Driving disqualifications will normally come with an endorsement, so the 5 year period for the endorsement will be applied, unless the period of the disqualification was longer than 5 years, in which case that period will be used to determine the spent date.
If you are banned from driving for seven years and also fined and receive an endorsement on your licence, although the fine becomes spent after 1 year, and the endorsement is spent after 5 years, the rehabilitation period for the conviction would be 7 years.
Motoring fines
A fine on its own under the ROA is 1 year, but for motoring offences dealt with by way of a court imposed conviction, it will normally come along with an endorsement, which has a 5 year rehabilitation period.
Multiple motoring disposals
Where the court imposes more than one sentence or penalty for the offence then the longest rehabilitation period determines when the conviction may become spent.
If you go to court and get convicted with a sentence of a fine, an endorsement, penalty points and a 1 year driving disqualification, the conviction will become spent after 5 years because the endorsement carries the longest period.
Fixed penalty notices for road traffic offences
A Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) can be used to deal with minor road traffic offences, but it is not a criminal conviction or a caution.
However, if you are given an FPN for a road traffic offence in Schedule 2 to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, and your licence is endorsed, then (in line with s. 58 of that Act) the endorsement is treated as having been given by a court following conviction of the offence and is subject to a 5 year rehabilitation period, from the date the FPN was issued.
A full list of the offences covered by this are available here. Examples include:
- Exceeding the speed limit
- Failing to provide a specimen of breath for a breath test
- Failing to stop motor vehicle when required by constable
- Refusing to give, or giving false, name and address in cases of reckless, careless or inconsiderate driving or cycling
Where section 58 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act does not apply, an FPN is not a conviction. FPN’s do not appear on basic disclosure certificates.
Differences between endorsable and non-endorsable offences
Regardless of whether an offence was dealt with by FPN or whether it went to court, it is important to know whether the offence was an ‘endorseable’ or ‘non-endorsable’ offence, as this will determine whether your licence was endorsed and therefore whether the offence is subject to the 5 year rehabilitation period for endorsements.
We are planning to produce specific guidance on this shortly. In the meantime, the easiest way to find out if you received an endorsement on your licence is by checking with the DVLA. You can contact the DVLA by calling 0300 790 6801 or writing to Drivers Customer Services, Correspondence Team, DVLA, Swansea, SA6 7JL.
Differences between spent periods and licence periods
The length of time that motoring offences stay on your licence is governed by road traffic legislation. This is entirely separate to the time it takes for it to become spent under the ROA. It is perfectly possible for a motoring conviction to become spent under the ROA, but still be on your licence.
If you are fined for drink-driving and have your licence endorsed and receive 3 penalty points, the rehabilitation period would be five years (because of the endorsement), although it will stay on your driving licence for 11 years.
There remains some confusion around motoring offences, the ways in which they link with your criminal record, and the reasons for the DVLA retaining data once it is spent under the ROA. For further information about DVLA records see here..
FAQ’s on ROA and Basic DBS disclosures
This page sits within our information section on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. This is a specific page with FAQ’s covering specific situations and when convictions become spent and/or disclosed on basic DBS disclosures.
It depends on the disposal/sentence.
Sentences with a buffer period (i.e. prison sentences, suspended sentences and community orders) are made up of the original sentence, plus an additional fixed period. For these, you normally start from the date the sentence started.
For sentences with no buffer period (i.e. a fine) the rehabilitation period is either the length of the order, or a fixed period starting from the date of conviction.
No. The buffer period starts from the end of the full sentence. This includes time spent on licence. For example, if you were sentenced to 12 months in June 2013, and we’re released in December 2013, the buffer period wouldn’t start until June 2014, which is the end of the full 12 month sentence.
The buffer period starts on the sentence end date of the custodial sentence, which takes into account any time spent on remand. For example, if you were held on remand in May 2013 for one month, and then sentenced in June 2013 and given a 6 month sentence with remand having been taken into account, the end of the full sentence would be November 2013, which is when the buffer period would apply from.
Extended sentences for public protection are not covered by the Act, and so they cannot become spent.
If you get a further conviction while an earlier one is unspent, neither of them will become spent until the longest of them does. This is covered in more detail in our detailed guide.
No. The earlier sentence of more than 4 years would drag through any previously unspent convictions, and these would never become spent as a result. However, any further convictions after the one of more than 4 years can become spent on their own. For example, if you were sentenced to 5 years in prison in June 1995, this would never become spent. If you were later given a community order in June 2004, this could become spent on its own.
Suspended prison sentences are treated as prison sentences under the Act. It is the length of sentence that is used, not how long it was suspended for.
The rehabilitation period is governed by the custodial sentence, not the period of suspension or supervision. So, a six month custodial sentence suspended for two years has the same rehabilitation period as that for an immediate custodial sentence of six months. The length of the supervision order, or how long it was suspended was, is irrelevant
The provisions in the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2013 provide for a period of supervision post-sentence. This is to make sure that all individuals sentenced to imprisonment have at least 12 months on supervision on release. Individuals receiving sentences of two years or more will not be subject to post-sentence supervision because they will spend 12 months on licence subject to conditions following automatic release at the half-way point of the sentence.
Under the 2013 Act, where an individual receives a custodial sentence of less than two years, they will serve the second half of the sentence on licence and then there will be a period of post-sentence supervision to make sure that the overall period of supervision in the community is 12 months. For example, under these provisions an individual given a six month sentence may serve three months in prison and three months on licence with a further period of nine months on post-sentence supervision – the period of licence and post-sentence supervision will be 12 months.
However, the extra supervision period is post-sentence and does not affect the rehabilitation period for the conviction. In the example given, the sentence imposed is six months and the rehabilitation period would apply accordingly – the period of the sentence plus two years beyond the end date of the sentence – and the additional nine months of supervision will not be counted.
For example, if somebody was convicted as an adult in June 2014 and given 5 months in prison, the end of their sentence would be November 2014, so the conviction would become spent 2 years later (i.e. November 2016). The fact that the individual might be subject to ‘extended supervision’ into 2015 does not effect the ‘end of the sentence’ under the ROA.
A Community Order should have an end date, i.e. you might be given 180 hours, as part of a 12 month order. It doesn’t become spent quicker if you finish the hours quicker – the fixed period starts from the end of the court order.
Yes. However, non-payment of a fine may result in a further conviction, which will have its own rehabilitation period, and may drag the earlier conviction with it.
When you are applying for your basic DBS disclosure, you need to provide evidence to the Disclosure and Barring Service that the Compensation Order has been paid. You can obtain a letter of confirmation (or a receipt) from the Court when it is paid. If you don’t have this, you should be able to contact the court and ask them to confirm this in writing (and there shouldn’t be a charge for this). You can find further information on this advice post.
No, you only need to provide the evidence once. The Disclosure and Barring Service will keep this on file for all future basic disclosures.
It is unlikely that after 6 years a compensation order would be disclosed on a basic DBS certificate. However, this does not mean that you do not have to repay the compensation order. You are still legally required to repay the order and could be open to further legal action if you failed to do so.
A SOPO falls within the definition in the ROA of an Order that imposes a prohibition. The rehabilitation period for this type of Order ends on the date when the prohibition ceases to have effect. In your case, in five years time.
The conviction will become spent after a year (as an adult) or when the SOPO ends, whichever is longer. This will usually mean that the conviction won’t become spent until the SOPO ends. If you have a SOPO that doesn’t have an end date, you should consider getting legal advice and get it amended – find out more information here.
No. A sexual offender notification requirement is not regarded as a “disqualification, disability, prohibition or other penalty”. This means that the length of time you’re on the Sex Offenders Register is separate to how long it takes for a conviction to become spent. As a result of the reduced rehabilitation periods that came into force in 2014, it is now common for a conviction to become spent, but an individual still be subject to the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
The order itself isn’t deemed to be a criminal conviction it would only become one if you breached the order. The time it would take to become spent would depend on the sentence/disposal you received.
Technically, the conviction cannot become spent until the order ends. If you have an order that doesn’t have an end date, you should consider getting legal advice and get it amended.
The Act applies where an order is made on conviction, and the order imposes any disqualification, disability, prohibition or other penalty. Only if both of these circumstances are met will the order be subject to the rehabilitation provisions and may appear on a basic DBS disclosure certificate, if it has not yet ended. The Ministry of Justice hasn’t published a list of orders that this applies to, but the ones we have seen it apply to are covered in our detailed guide.
Fixed penalty notices (FPN) and penalty notices for disorder (PND) are on-the-spot fines issued by the police for minor offences. If you receive a FPN or PND and pay this within the specified time limit, all liability for the offence is discharged and the offence does not form part of your criminal record. However, if you fail to pay a FPN or PND on time, you are likely to receive a court summons. If you accept responsibility for the offence, whether in person at court or by post, or are found guilty, you will have a conviction which will (in most cases) form part of a criminal record.
In some cases where a FPN or PND has not been paid on time and has defaulted to court, the offence is not recorded as a conviction on the Police National Computer and remains a locally held record. If you have failed to pay a FPN or PND on time and the matter has defaulted to court, you may wish to access a copy of your criminal record after the court hearing to see how your information has been recorded.
Neither of these are technically classed as convictions, and are not technically covered by the Act, so they don’t become spent as such. Although this means that, if asked, you are not entitled to withhold the details of them, in practice you won’t normally get asked about them. Also, they don’t come back on basic, standard or enhanced DBS criminal record checks. This means that employers don’t have access to them through ordinary employment vetting processes.
However, a Fixed Penalty Notice for an endorseable motoring offence will result in an endorsement on your licence. This will stay on your licence for either 4 or 11 years. It also takes 5 years (as an adult) to become spent. In practice, this means that you will need to disclose it to motor insurers until it becomes spent. You may also need to disclose it to an employer, if you need to provide your employer with your driving licence.
Fixed Penalty Notices are not disclosed on basic DBS disclosures. Details of FPN’s are recorded locally by the Police, but they do not form part of the Police National Computer, which is what is used when basic disclosures are carried out.
Usually, when you receive a driving disqualification in court, you will receive an endorsement to your licence. An endorsement is subject to a five year rehabilitation period (as an adult) and your conviction would therefore be spent at the end of the five years and not at the end of the 18 month disqualification.
Unfortunately not. As part of applying for UK citizenship, there will be a check with the Police and other authorities as part of the character check. You will need to give details of all criminal convictions (this used to be just unspent convictions, but it now applies to all). There is further detailed guidance available here.
